The Relationship between Marital Conflict, Parental Control, and Adolescents` Anxiety
Mi Kyung Choi
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between marital conflict, parental control, and adolescents` anxiety. The participants were composed of 319 high school 1st graders (of which 153 were boys and 165 were girls) from the Seoul area. They completed questionnaires on marital conflict, parental control, and adolescents` anxiety. The data were analyzed by means of Pearson`s correlation coefficients and regressions. It was observed that marital conflict (frequency/intensity/ resolution/content) was positively correlated with adolescents` anxiety. Parental psychological control was also positively correlated with adolescents` anxiety. However parental behavioral control was negatively correlated with adolescents` anxiety. In addition marital conflict was positively correlated with parental psychological control in contrast with that of behavioral control. It was further found that parental psychological and behavioral control partially mediated the relationship between marital conflict and adolescents` anxiety. These results clearly indicate that parental control plays a crucial role in marital conflict and adolescents` anxiety.